1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle seat that has ISO-FIX anchors, which can hold the ISO-FIX type child seat.
2. Description of the Related Art
International standard ISO-FIX is known as a system for holding the ISO-FIX type child seat to a vehicle seat. A vehicle seat that has ISO-FIX anchors for holding the ISO-FIX type child seat is disclosed in, for example, JP 2008-105580A.
Any ISO-FIX type child seat has left and right engaging members at the rear. The anchors (i.e., ISO-FIX anchors) for receiving the engaging members may be arranged at the rear end of the seat cushion or at the lower end of the seat back of a vehicle seat.
One type of an anchor is known, which is a wire member bend in the form of letter U. The wire member is composed of left and right side bars parallel to each other, and a front bar connecting the side bars at front end. Any child seat has, at the lower part of its back, left and right engaging members extending backward. Either engaging member is forked into two arms, as seen from the side. The arms define a long, slit-shaped cut (engaging port). As long as the front bar of the wire member is set in the engaging ports of the left and right engaging members, the anchor holds the child seat to the vehicle seat. In most cases, the lower arm of the forked engaging member is shorter than the upper arm, enabling the engaging member to engage with the front bar smoothly.
In most vehicle seats, the anchors are provided at the rear end of the seat cushion or at the lower end of the seat back. Both the seat cushion and the seat back are composed of a seat cushion frame, i.e., main component, a pad (seat pad) made of, for example, urethane foam and covering the seat cushion frame, and a trim cover covering the pad. The pad has recesses, in which the anchors are arranged, respectively. In the case where the anchors are provided at the rear end of the seat cushion, the seat cushion frame is shaped rectangular as viewed from above, composed of left and right side frames and, for example, front and rear connecting pipes connecting the side frames at front and rear ends. The anchors are secured to the rear connecting pipe and arranged in the pad recesses.
If the pad recesses and the anchors arranged in the pad recesses, respectively, are seen, the vehicle seat is impaired in outer appearance. It is therefore proposed that two box-shaped bezels should cover and conceal the pad recesses, respectively.
While the child seat is not secured to the vehicle seat, the opening of either bezel may be covered with a cap. In this case, the anchors arranged in the pad recesses are unseen from outside, and would not impair the outer appearance of the vehicle seat. If the cap is made removable from the bezel and is removed from the bezel, however, it will probably be lost. This is why the cap is swingably attached to the bezel in most cases.
JP 2008-105580A, for example, discloses a vehicle seat. In this vehicle seat, either bezel covers a pad recess, the opening of the bezel is covered with a swingable cap, and either anchor extends to the pad recess through the hole made in the bottom wall (back) of the bezel.
In this configuration, the bezel conceals the pad recess. While the child seat remains unused, the cap covers the pad recess, concealing the anchors arranged in the pad recesses. This prevents the outer appearance of the vehicle seat from being impaired. To secure the child seat to the vehicle seat, the caps are swung, exposing the anchors, and the anchors are engaged with engaging members of the child seat. The child seat is thereby secured to the vehicle seat.
German Utility Model Publication DE20006692U1 discloses a cap that can be stored in a bezel. This cap has left and right walls extending backwards from the center of the back, and is T-shaped as viewed from the side. The cap has two pairs of hinge pins protruding from the left and right side walls, respectively, and spaced a little from each other in the front-back direction. The left and right grooves are cut in the left and right inner surfaces of the bezel and extend in the front-back direction, respectively. The hinge pins of the cap are fitted in the guide grooves and can slide in the guide grooves. The bezel incorporates a leaf spring, which pushes the front hinge pin to the front end of the guide groove. The cap is thereby held at a position where it covers the opening of the bezel. Since the hinge pins spaced in the front-back direction are fitted in the guide grooves, the cap is held without rotating, by virtue of the bias of the leaf spring, at the position where it covers the opening of the bezel.
To secure the child seat to the vehicle seat, the engaging members of the child seat are pushed into the pad recess. At this point, the engaging members push the caps, against the bias of leaf springs. The hinge pins of the cap are therefore slide along the guide grooves of the bezel. The guide grooves are arcing up, gradually toward the rear ends. Therefore, the cap rotates around the hinge pins, jumping up, as the hinge pins are pushed by the engaging member and slide along the guide grooves. The cap moves from the distal end of the engaging member onto the upper surfaces thereof. The cap is thus pushed to the upper surface of the engaging member, because of the bias of the leaf spring. As a result, the cap is stored in the bezel, with the rear hinge pin abutting on the rear end of the guide groove.
The vehicle seat described in JP 2008-105580A must have a means for swinging the cap to secure the child seat to the vehicle seat and holding the cap in the swung position. Further, a space must be provided around the opening of the bezel in order to allow the cap to swing in a specific locus. Inevitably, the components provided around the opening of the bezel are restricted in not only shape, but also position.
The cap disclosed in German Utility Model Publication DE20006692U1 is swung jumps up when the engaging member of the child seat is pushed into the pad recess. The cap is then held in the bezel, while being pushed to the upper surfaces of the engaging members. Therefore, fixing means is not necessary and any space need not be provided around the opening of the bezel to allow the cap to swing in a specific locus. Hence, the components provided around the opening of the bezel are not restricted in shape or position.
Moreover, the vehicle seat looks better because the cap is stored in the bezel as long as the child seat is secured to the vehicle seat. In addition, the cap is hardly broken because no external force is applied to it.
To secure the child seat to the vehicle seat, however, the distal ends of the engaging members are pushed into the bezels, and the front surfaces of the cap is pushed onto the upper surface of the engaging member, against the bias of the leaf springs. As the bias of the leaf spring pushes the cap, at front surface, onto the upper surfaces of the engaging member, the cap jumps up, while sliding on the upper surface of the engaging member, and is stored into the pad recess. To release the child seat from the anchors, the engaging members are pulled from the pad recesses. As the engaging members are pulled from the pad recesses, the front surface of the cap slides on the upper surfaces of the engaging member, while being pushed onto the upper surface of the engaging member with the bias of the leaf spring, and finally reaches the distal end of the engaging members. Thus, the cap is pushed, at front surface, to the distal end of the engaging member with the bias of the leaf spring, and therefore returns to a position, where it covers the opening of the bezel.
So pushed into the pad recesses, the engaging members of the child seat have their distance ends pushed onto the front surface of the caps, against the bias of the leaf spring. The cap inevitably jumps up, sliding on the upper surface of the engaging member. To release the child seat from the anchors, too, the engaging members are pushed onto the front surface of the cap, jumping the cap up. The front surface of the cap is inevitably damaged as it contacts the engaging member, possibly impairing the outer appearance of the cap. If the ISO-FIX anchor marks (pictographs) are drawn on the front surface of the cap, the front surface of the cap will be roughened. Therefore, it is difficult to put the marks (pictographs) to the front surface of the cap.
The leaf spring is bent and secured, at one end, to the bezel, and is clamped, at the other end (free end), between two pins provided on the back of the cap. The cap therefore remains inclining a little backward, covering the opening of the bezel, while the child seat remains not secured to the vehicle seat.
The leaf spring is an indispensable component, increasing the number of components constituting the vehicle seat. The leaf spring is fixed at one end, holding the cap in the same state as a cantilever bent. Hence, its other end (free end) can hardly be positioned to set the cap at a position where the cap covers the opening of the bezel, while inclining at a specific angle. Inevitably, the vehicle seat is complex in configuration.
The leaf spring pushes the cap, at front surface, to the upper surfaces of the engaging member, storing the cap in the bezel. The cap therefore would not rattle, making no noise, even while the vehicle is running.